Siem Reap, Cambodia

Our bus to Siem Reap was small, especially with our backpacks squished beside us, and gave us a tour of rural Cambodia, which was more of what we were originally expecting. Shacks lined the road, with thatched roofs and some held up by sticks. Children, sometimes naked, ran around outside with cows and chickens and women worked in gardens or hanging laundry. The houses looked very small, and when we could see inside they seemed to be one or two rooms, with curtains instead of doors.  The dirt road to Siem Reap was bumpy! At one point I went flying up off the seat, and almost to the ground. Men rode past piled 15 high on tractors or truck wagons, and we were stuck behind a herd of cattle for about an hour. Recent floods didn’t help the situation, and when we arrived in Siem Reap we found the flooding was even worse.  A tuk tuk driver from our hostel named Chamnan had come to pick us up though, and he soon became our new favorite person. He was quiet and kind, and not pushy like every other tuk tuk driver we’ve met. We drove through potholes and flooded streets, arriving at our hostel where we had no choice but to roll up our pants and step in the water to get inside.  We immediately liked the woman running the hostel. From Canada, she and her husband traveled on and off for seven years before deciding to buy a guesthouse, sell everything they owned and move to Cambodia. She was so helpful and organized! And for $5 per night the guesthouse was one of our favorites so far. After telling us exactly which places had the best of which local dishes, explaining what the street food was and pointing out the only fee free ATM in town, she bid us goodbye and we waded off to find dinner. The streets were crowded with people making their way along, tripping and slipping and playing in the water, or trying their best not to get wet, (impossible). By the time we reached an intersection the water was up to our knees! Despite major floods, the city was teeming with activity. We stopped at the Khmer House Restaurant and had our first real Cambodian meal–yam bake with chicken, vegetables, various spices and cheese. So delicious!

Outside, we decided to try famous fish massages. You put your feet in a tank of fish and they swarm you, nibbling the dead skin off for about 15 minutes until you emerge as though you’ve been scrubbing with a pumice stone.  It took us a minute to make the plunge, and once we did I almost had to pull my feet out. It was so ticklish! But eventually I got used to it and stopped looking down, (seeing fish eating your skin is a little disturbing). After stopping at a market for pants that we would never wear in the US (we look like Aladdin, but we’re running out of clothing to cover our knees, necessary in temples, which we go to almost every day), we sloshed our way home, stopping at a street vendor for banana pancakes on the way. Banana pancakes in Cambodia are crepes filled with bananas, chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and a lot of oil, and made to order at a street cart. They are amazing! It’s a good thing they’re not so easily accessible in the US or I would weigh 300 pounds. A little boy about five years old came up to us begging for food while we were on our way to the pancake cart. Normally, we ignore beggars, but it’s harder to ignore an underweight, adorable little boy, so we bought him a pancake. (He wasn’t so adorable the next day when we happened to see him again and he begged for food then gave us the finger when we didn’t give him any).

The next day we woke up early to visit Angkor Wat, the world’s largest temple, and the complex of temples surrounding it.  Chamnan was waiting for us and the woman running the guesthouse packed us fruit, yogurt and muesli to go, (see why we liked her?).  We went first to Banteay Srei, about an hour and a half drive by tuk tuk and one of our favorite temples because it’s the only one built from red sandstone, giving it a beautiful pink tint in the early morning light. The temples at Angkor are Hindu, (though the main temple, Angkor Wat has been converted to a Buddhist temple), and Banteay Srei is covered with elaborate carvings dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Next we made our way through the main circuit of temples, stopping for pictures and trying not to get harassed by women selling scarves. Each temple is unique and stunning in its own way. The Bayon, for example, has 54 towers with large faces carved on each side, and Ta Phrom was uncovered from the jungle and there are roots and trees grown into the wood and stone. (This one was fun to climb around, and my favorite!). We stopped for lunch at family run snack shop on the outskirts of the temples for stir-fry and noodles. Cambodian food is definitely my favorite of anywhere we’ve been so far! Lastly, we arrived at Angkor Wat, the largest temple and the only one still in use today. The temple is beautiful, and impressive for its size and ornate carvings, but was my least favorite because it has been restored to the point where some areas look new, and there were so many people! The entire Angkor Complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stretching for 1200 square miles. We were happy to have Chamnan drive us around in his tuk tuk!

After a much needed shower, (Cambodia is very hot, and extremely humid), we went off in search of fish amok, the most famous Cambodian dish. We got a little lost looking for a market on our way, and then it started raining. The flooding was even worse today, and kids splashed and played in the area that used to be a roundabout. Throwing balls and floating along on intertubes, it reminded me of a snow day in Wisconsin. We happen to be traveling through all of Asia during the rainy season, (the only good point is prices are cheaper!), and this time we were without our handy dandy bright green ponchos. Ducking under awnings and pushing through the flooded streets as fast as we could, we finally found the market and browsed through bags, dresses and jewelry, waiting for the rain to let up. When it became clear it wasn’t stopping, we ran across the street toward the restaurant that supposedly had the best fish amok, but couldn’t find it anywhere. We asked several people, but it wasn’t until much farther down the street that someone could point us in the right direction. By now it was pouring. The restaurant we were looking for, Sugar Palm, was hidden far down a side street. When we finally showed up, dripping wet and holding bags over our heads, we were pleasantly surprised to climb a small stairway and find the charming restaurant in an old style wood beam house, with cozy lighting and an open air balcony looking out onto the rainy street below. Fish amok is fish steamed with coconut milk in banana leaves until it’s almost like a soufflé. After that, a wonderful chicken curry and spring rolls, we were happy we braved the storm! But not happy enough to walk back, especially since word had spread that the crocodile farm right near our hostel was even more flooded and they feared the crocodiles would escape. Chamnan told us this happens every year, and they eventually they catch the crocodiles…he also told us they’re huge. The thought of one lurking in the street/lake by our feet, hidden in the dark, was enough for us to find a tuk tuk back. (We made him stop at a banana pancake stand on the way!)